UConn To Face Marshall In St. Petersburg Bowl

Quarterback Bryant Shirreffs, who left UConn's Nov. 21 game against Houston after taking a hit to the head, has been cleared to return for the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 26 against Marshall. (John Woike)

They had hoped to have a moment.

A real moment, together, UConn football coaches, players and everyone associated with the program when the announcement became official Sunday that the Huskies were heading for postseason play.

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UConn (6-6) will play Marshall (9-3) in the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field Dec. 26 at 11 a.m. on ESPN.

Bob Diaco has the Huskies back in a bowl. UConn will play Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl the day after Christmas. (Chris Szagola / Associated Press)

"The fact of the matter is these things are so big and there's so many moving parts, the invitation was extended to [athletic director] Warde [Manuel] and Warde and I were in constant contact and the team has been ready and waiting for the information and then when it was allowed to be released to the team, I sent them simultaneously a note from me, directly to them, and they had an opportunity to hear it first just before it was released, so it worked out great," UConn coach Bob Diaco said on a conference call Sunday.

Forget proper etiquette for bowl announcements for now. The message was clear wherever it came from: UConn football is going bowling for the first time in five years. And it's official.

And a guy not named Randy Edsall did it in the FBS era. Timing will be critical for the game, so the coaches and players are going to put a heavy emphasis on that, but they're also going to enjoy the fruits of their labor beginning last year, which ended at 2-10.

"They're so excited and on fire," Diaco said. "I kind of hand-sketched, like four weeks ago, when we had two games to play, and I was talking about the moment of in your car when you go over the bridge, any bridge on a causeway and you can't quite see the water yet but you can roll the windows down and you feel that salt and smell that salt … we've been talking about it for weeks. Whether we knew we were going to be at a place like this where saltwater abounds or not, it just worked out and everybody is so stoked about this opportunity to play a great game in a climate and in a region where we can experience the quintessential bowl experience."

Nationally, the top four spots in the college football playoff weren't much of a surprise, either: Top-seeded Clemson will play No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in the first College Football Playoff semifinal on New Year's Eve, while No. 2 Alabama will play No. 3 Michigan State at the Cotton Bowl in the nightcap of the Dec. 31 doubleheader.

The Thundering Herd beat Florida International 20-10 in the 2011 game. It was known then as the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl. Marshall beat Northern Illinois 52-23 in the Boca Raton Bowl last year.

There are only two Huskies on the current roster who have played in a bowl game, and they transferred in: linebacker Graham Stewart is a senior starter who scored a touchdown in the Gator Bowl as a freshman, and Florida State was crowned the national champion in 2013-14 when E.J. Levenberry was a freshman. He also played in the Rose Bowl the next year.

Diaco said he wasn't sure when the Huskies would arrive in Florida but, ideally, he said, he would like to have the team in St. Petersburg for about week.

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"We have finals the week before that," Diaco said. "We need to be cognizant of making sure the students can do great on their finals and finish the semester strong. So this week will be an important week of meetings and practice. We're working to get three in [Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday] this week."

In St. Petersburg, the Huskies will face the program that made Chad Pennington and Randy Moss stars and, currently, has one of the best offensive minds in the business in head coach Doc Holliday, whose name was linked to openings at Maryland this year and Pitt last year before Marshall locked up Conference USA's 2014 coach of the year. Holliday has led the Thundering Herd to a 32-8 record in the past three seasons.

Older UConn fans ought to know the Holliday name well. He was an assistant to former Big East coach Rich Rodriguez, who brought in West Virginia teams that did damage at Rentschler Field. Holliday had something to do with that as the Mountaineers' receivers coach in 1993-94 and assistant head coach/receivers from 1996-99 and then again as assistant head coach in 2008-09.

"I was so hopeful we would get an opportunity to play this team because they're a great team," Diaco said. "9-3 this year, a couple of great wins, beat a Big Ten team [Purdue]. Coach Holliday is a great coach. I wouldn't say I know him real well but we have spent some time together crossing over as an assistant, for sure, I've got nothing but respect for him and the program he runs. They were fantastic a year ago, lights out, and they're great again. They're an explosive team that scores a lot of points."

The Thundering Herd are led by freshman quarterback Chase Litton, who threw for 2,387 yards and 22 touchdowns this season. Marshall has a balanced attack with 455 rushing plays and 435 passing plays. Tight end Ryan Yurachek has eight touchdown receptions

UConn is 33rd nationally in total defense (352.3 yards allowed per game), but the Huskies are a little nastier against the pass, being ranked 21st (187 yards a game). UConn is tied for 11th nationally in interceptions with 17, and sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers ended the regular season tied for third in the country with seven.

Diaco said that quarterback Bryant Shirreffs, who suffered a blow to the head in the first quarter against Houston and didn't play in the season finale against Temple, has been cleared to practice with no limitations and has been moving well.